Ba'atun page - SaintSilver

Ba'atun DARK CLOUDS GATHER (UK7) - 9151
CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Cold mountains
FREQUENCY: Very rare
ORGANIZATION: Swarm
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Any
DIET:
Carnivore
INTELLIGENCE: Average to Genius (8-18)
TREASURE: 10% E, Qx5
ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil
NO. APPEARING: 8-64 plus leaders
ARMOR CLASS: 4
MOVEMENT: 9, Fl 21 (C)
HIT DICE: 2+1
THACO: 17
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 4-9/4-7/4-7
CRIT. HIT/FUMBLE: 25%(+25%)/75%
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil
SIZE:
M (5'-6')
MORALE: Champion (15-16)
XP VALUE: 270
Flight leaders 2,000
Swarm leaders 5,000
Priests
variable
Queen
variable
BA'ATUN have large white, bat-like wings. Their
fur is an icy blue color and they have red rumps.
Facially, ba'atun resemble baboons with long snouts
and sharp fanged teeth set in red maws. Their eyes are
bright blue and red rimmed. The ba'atun have their own
language and are not normally able to speak anything
else.
History: From where the ba'atun first came no one is
sure. Some claimed they were demons made from
snow, while others thought they were exiles, banished
from a frozen parallel world. What little is known to a
few erudite sages, is that several millennia ago they
arrived in the Spineridge Mountains with their constant
companions — death and destruction. For a brief
period it looked as though the mountains and surrounding
lands would fall to their onslaught.
An alliance between the aarakocra, the cloud giants
and the arch-mage Devral halted the ba'atun attacks
and succeeded in imprisoning their leader Yesorkh
Pahyeh. During the following centuries the days of the
ba'atun terror were forgotten. Now they have returned,
and are once again preparing to spread their evil.
In CT 1003, the Band of the Glass Griffon, an
adventuring company from Eirbron, nearly eradicated
the ba'atun species in the epic adventure bards recall as
"Dark Clouds Gather." The leader of the ba'atun,
Yesorkh Pahyeh, was slain in the final confrontation.
A few ba'atun not slain by the band have over the past
several years allied with the Empire of Roland and
been working to rebuild the old power of the species It
is rumored that a new ba'atun leader has emerged.
Combat: Ba'atun bite with their sharp vicious teeth
(1d6+3) and rend with their dirty claws (1d4+3/1d4+3).
(Ba'atun have an average Strength of 18/75 and Dexterity
16. Their Strength and Dexterity bonuses have
already been added to their damage and critical hit
dice). They are not able to attack more than one target
per round. When attacking, ba'atun emit a loud piercing
and chilling screech which affects all creatures
within 60 feet. Creatures hearing the screech must save
vs. Spells at +4 or be struck by fear and unable to take
any offensive actions for a round. Each round that the
screeching lasts, characters must make a successful
saving throw (before initiative is determined) to be
able to act. Only one saving throw per round is re-

Ba'atun DARK CLOUDS GATHER (UK7) - 9151
quired, no matter how many ba'atun there are.
Ba'atun make all saving throws vs. cold attacks at
+2, and take either half or no damage from such
attacks. They are allowed a saving throw against ice
storm spells and other cold-based spells which normally
allow no saving throw, with success resulting in
half damage. Against fire attacks, ba'atun suffer a -2
penalty to saving throws.
Habitat/Society: The ba'atun have allied with the
Empire of Roland and now serve as elite scouts in the
Spineridge Mountains.
Ba'atun are organized into squads of eight, each led
by a 3 Hit Dice wing sergeant. Two squads form a flight
(led by a flight leader), and two flights make up a
swarm (led by a swarm leader).
Flight leaders have an AC 5, and 5 Hit Dice. A flight
leader's strength and skill gives him a +1 bonus to
damage on all attacks. A flight leader carries a sling
and three web stones, which, upon hitting a creature or
surface, create small sticky webs in a 5' diameter area
(similar to a web spell but needing no anchor points,
duration five turns). Once per day, a flight leader can
fire shards of ice from his hand, at a creature up to 50
feet away. The shards cause 2d8 points of damage (a
saving throw vs. breath weapon halves damage).
Swarm leaders have 7 Hit Dice, AC 1, and a +2
bonus on to hit and damage rolls. A swarm leader
usually carries 1d3 ice javelins, which are considered
to be +2 magic weapons for purposes of creatures hit
only by magical weapons (though, they bear no enchantment),
and which do 1d6 points of damage
against small or man-size creatures and 1d8 against
large-size or greater creatures. In addition, a successful
hit causes the weapon to explode in a volley of icy
splinters which inflict an extra 2d8 points of damage to
all within 10 feet of the blast (a saving throw vs. breath
weapon halves damage; creatures wearing magic armor
gain a +1 bonus to save per plus of the armor).
As well as being able to fire shards of ice from their
hands (cf., flight leaders), swarm leaders have the
ability, once per day, to create a ray of cold. The ray is
a cone 50 feet long and 20 feet wide at the base, and
causes 3d8 points of damage to all creatures within it.
A successful saving throw vs. breath weapon results in
half damage.
A ba'atun lair will usually have a temple where
bloody rites are celebrated regularly by a ba'atun high
priest. The high priest has the abilities of a 7th-level
cleric and can create a ray of cold and ice shards once
per day (see above). In addition to the high priest, there
will be a 4th-level priest and 1d4+1 2nd-level acolytes
(2+1 HD). Ba'atun clerics shave their heads, exposing
the pink skin beneath. They also color their bodies with
blood-red ochre to intimidate their enemies.
Ecology: As flying creatures, ba'atun need large
amounts of animal protein to sustain themselves. They
are cunning, relentless hunters and their prey seldom
escapes once it has come within their sight. They favor
aarakocra meat over all others.
Ba'atun queens: Once every generation or so, an
exceptional ba'atun is born. These "albino" specimens
are deemed by the ba'atun to be blessed by their deity
and are always female. Queens are larger, smarter
(genius intelligence) and stronger than normal ba'atun.
Queens are always 9th to 15th level fighters, priests or
wizards and have the following statistics: AC 0; MV
12, Fl 24 (C); HD 9+; #AT 3; Dmg 6-11/6-9/6-9; Sz
M (6'5" tall). Queens have the ability to use ice shards,
cold ray and wall of ice (as the spell) once per day.
Queens are 90% likely to possess 1d4 magic items. The
last such queen was Yesorkh Pahyeh.
Yesorkh Pahyeh was an "albino" with black colorations.
She had the abilities of a 15th-level wizard and
like all queens possessed was born with the power to
possess a victim once per week as an innate ability (as
a magic jar spell)
Using this power a queen can possess the body of
any creature within 10 yards of her who fails a saving
throw vs. spells.
When possessing a creature, a queen is able to cast
spells as long as the possessed creature has a humanoid
form. Any special abilities of the possessed creature
are also usable by her. A queen is not able to call upon
exact memories of the creature, but certain memories
will be known to her.
Any creature possessed by a queen remains under
her control until she returns to her own body. When
returning to her own body, a queen's life-essence is
visible as a shadow-like which moves at a speed of Fl
48 and cannot be harmed by any means. A queen can
be driven from her victim by an exorcism spell or a
remove curse cast by a priest of 8th level or higher.
When a queen abandons a possessed body, the victim
collapses in a state of shock for 1d10 turns.

The source of the Ba'atun follows:
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Official Game Adventure: Dark Clouds
Gather (Module UK7)
by Jim Bambra and Phil Gallagher
artwork by Brian Williams
copyright March 1985, TSR, Inc.
New layout and editing by Steve Stewart
This monster page is intended for use only by owners of Dark Clouds
Gather.
This monster and other information for your AD&D 2nd edition game can
be found at Zayix's Fälgorna Archives for Dungeons and Dragons
(http://www.saintsilver.com/zayix/)